Once again America was gripped and enthralled in a tragedy, one that sadly is a regular part of inner city life, police vs. the public was the narrative. The emotions of loss, anger, pain, distrust and confusion still linger because of Aug. 9, 2014.
Last week a grand jury made up of Ferguson, Missouri, citizens was presented with the challenge of approving the state of Missouri’s case against officer Darren Wilson or denying the state the opportunity of trial, due to lack of evidence.
The jury denied the case, and outrage ensued.
Not only in Ferguson but across the nation, people of all backgrounds took to the streets and expressed their opposition.
I do not believe that the protesters views and outlandish opinions on the grand jury trial are valid, at least if we look at the facts.
According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, U.S. attorneys prosecuted 162,000 federal cases in 2010, the most recent year for which we have data. Grand juries declined to return an indictment in only 11 of them.
These statistics shows me that for the defendant to not be indicted, there has to be extraordinary proof of his innocence. But the seemingly overwhelming proof to suggest the innocence of Darren Wilson is not enough to silence some extremists.
I had the opportunity to be in San Francisco during Black Friday, the day after the grand jury decision. I travel to the city every year to witness the annual lighting of the Macy’s Union Square Christmas tree and partake in the devilish shopping deals.
In the square at the lighting this year over 110,000 people were present, and surprisingly to me protesting insurgents took this opportunity to advance their hatred of government and established order.
Our justice system is the most fair and well put together in the world, that does not make us immune to mistakes. To err is human, we can not expect to be 100% correct all the time, there is no possible way to avoid the human error.
Trashing our entire way of justice and the way in which we decide the guilt of someone, whether they are White, African American, Hispanic, Asian or Middle Eastern should not be determined by isolated instances or by the loudest and most violent critics.
I witnessed a group of 10 or so African American men destroy the front window of the Crate and Barrel outlet store on Stockton Street in San Francisco to steal the merchandise inside.
Trashing your own city will not bring any restitution or even sympathy to any groups cause. Respectful and peaceful protest with actual plans and goals such as the March on Washington in 1963 produced quantified and meaningful results.
I watched profanity laced insults spatter the protective visors of riot police that stood statue like in the face of pure hatred. Men that risk their lives on a daily basis to protect the very same people that have no respect for them.
Do the common thugs care one bit about what happened to their “brother” in Ferguson, or are they out to use him for their own gain?
They defile his name and bring hypocrisy down upon themselves and their culture. Hate of order and love chaos is their motivation.
Their goal is not to change our justice system to be more fair, rather it is to benefit themselves! And to use any excuse possible to create chaos! This is their American illusion. Chaos is an easier more care free way of life, with no consequences and no responsibility.
6,493,000, that is the number of African American families in America today according to Kids Count Data Center, 67% of those families have only one parent present.
This in itself is a tragedy, can we truthfully look at that statistic and assume the black culture is concerned with responsibility and consequences of their actions.
Who am I to put an entire race into a box of irresponsibility, I can only point out trends and logical facts in their way of life.
The real issue that inevitably includes race is, does our justice system need reform and should we change law enforcement policy? Many critics of our system have cited the lack of black police officers, especially in Ferguson, where only three out of 53 officers are African American, as a contributing factor to police vs. public violence.
The critics suggestion is to require police departments to be as diverse as the community they represent. For example, Fresno would be expected to have 46% White officers, 8% African American officers, 44% Hispanic officers, and 2% other.
If we adopt this policy what will stop us from making the argument that nearly 70% of America is White, therefore we should have a White president, to be fair of course.
In 1776 our forefathers declared to the most powerful nation in the world at the time, England, that we would no longer be subject to their oppression. Since that day we have not looked back and have continually strived to become better.
With every domestic issue we conquer we become stronger and stronger, no matter what the extremists on both sides say we are all Americans no matter what color we are. We all stand united under the Stars and Stripes.
The writer can be reached via Twitter @2015Beal.
For more opinions, read the Dec. 2 article, Ice rink festivities offer Christmas atmosphere.
Front page photo provided by Creative Commons 2.0 Flickr Fibonacci Blue.